Briefing
- Sweet Magnolias was filmed in Covington, Georgia, a picturesque town with a small-town feel that perfectly captures Serenity’s charm.
- Many of the show’s fictional locations, such as Sullivan’s Restaurant and the Corner Spa, are real places in Covington.
- While most of the scenes were shot in Covington, there are several other locations in Georgia used to bring Serenity to Sweet Magnolias to life, including Atlanta and McDonough.
Sweet magnolias is set in the fictional and picturesque town of Serenity, South Carolina, raising the question of where the real scenes of the Netflix drama were actually filmed. The show, based on the books of the same name by Sherryl Woods, centers on three characters who have been best friends since childhood as they navigate all of life’s ups and downs together. Through the struggles of living in a small-town bubble, Maddie, Dana Sue, and Helen support each other.
That small town, Serenity, plays a big part of the show. Serenity has a unique charm, a small town full of quaint houses and beautiful areas, all full of Southern hospitality. Beauty comes through in writing Sweet magnolias with all its great quotes and memorable characters. While some scenes are shot on sets, the location of the “on location” part of the shoot is important to get right, especially when the environment plays such a big part. Fortunately, the location scouts did a great job. Here it is Sweet magnolias it was filmed.
Sweet Magnolias was filmed almost entirely in Covington, Georgia
Although the town of Serenity is supposed to be in South Carolina, Sweet magnolias it was actually filmed on location in Covington, Georgia. Covington is picturesque in its own right, so not much needs to be done in terms of building sets or completely reworking certain locations to get the small-town feel it needs. In fact, a number of the show’s most popular fictional locations already exist in Covington.
- Sullivan’s Restaurant is a real restaurant in Covington called Mystic Grill.
- The exterior of Corner Spa is a law office in Covington.
- Serenity’s clock tower building is the Newton County Courthouse in Covington.
- Maddie and Dana Sue’s homes are also located in Covington.
There are also a number of other scenes shot in and around downtown Covington, Georgia. However, even with the show shooting mostly on location, some sets are created on a soundstage to get the exact look that Sweet magnolias asks for. The interior shots of The Corner Spa, for example, were shot on a soundstage.
Sweet Magnolia also films in other areas of Georgia
While most of the scenes were shot in Covington, there are a few locations that, unfortunately, are not in the same area. Other locations are required to bring the City of Serenity to life Sweet magnolias. However, the entire show was still shot in Georgia. Here are the other countries in the Sweet magnolias was not shot in Covington.
- Henry County High School in McDonough, Georgia is home to Serenity High School.
- Prince of Peace Lutheran Church scenes were filmed at Oakhurst Presbyterian Church in Decatur, Georgia.
- Helen’s home is actually located in Atlanta, Georgia.
- Sweet magnolias Season 3’s Forager Festival scenes were filmed at Madison Town Park in Madison, Georgia.
- The season 3 gym scenes were filmed at Porter Memorial High School in Porterdale, Georgia.
A real town in South Carolina inspired the town of tranquility in sweet magnolias
Serenity may not actually exist, but you can certainly visit the town of Covington to see where it was filmed. Before Covington, there was a real town in South Carolina that became author Sherryl Woods’ inspiration for Serenity, and that town is Sumter, South Carolina. In fact, she has such fond memories of the city that she wrote a short ode to it early on. Sweet magnolias book, Stealing Home:
“Developing Serenity for this new series had special meaning for me. Every year while traveling from my home in Key Biscayne, Florida to my family’s summer cottage in Colonial Beach, Virginia, I make a stop in Sumter, South Carolina, to visit one of my family’s oldest and dearest friends, Donnie Clemons.”
Covington, Georgia isn’t just where Sweet Magnolias is filmed
Georgia has become known as the “LA of the South” thanks to the state becoming a hub of activity for film and television productions. Some cities and locations around the state have more than one production to their name, and Covington is no different. Thanks to its southern charm and cute, small-town aesthetic, Covington is actually quite a hot spot for numerous film and TV shoots. The most popular of these is likely the long-running CW series The Vampire Diaries. In fact, astute audiences may notice that certain areas of Serenity look a lot like another fictional town, Mystic Falls. If Sullivan’s restaurant’s real name, Mystic Grill, rings a bell, that’s because it’s the same name as the fictional grill frequented by the characters of The Vampire Diaries.
But while The Vampire Diaries could have used Covington more, and now that honor goes to him Sweet magnolias, that doesn’t mean they’re the only two productions to ever shoot in Covington. Far from it. Some movies that have been filmed in Covington include Doctor Sleep, Sweet Home Alabama, My cousin Vinny, Remember the Titans, SelmaAND Bare feet. Other TV shows that have been filmed there include Legacy, I will fly away, In the heat of the night, The Dukes of Hazzard, and others. Clearly, Netflix picked the perfect spot for it Sweet magnolias The sleepy town of Serenity season 4 when the show continues.
